Rep. Kerry Bentivolio, R-Mich., is facing a strong challenge in the Aug. 5 Republican primary from Birmingham lawyer and businessman Dave Trott, who had a 22-point lead in the Free Press poll.

Detroit Free Press Washington Staff

Related Links

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Kerry Bentivolio appears to no longer be disputing a $90,000 bill from a former campaign manager, but it’s unclear where he expects to find the funds to pay it off.

Bentivolio, R-Milford, has less than $1,100 left in a fund he created to help pay his 2012 campaign debts and this week he told the Free Press he planned to spend “every dime” of the money in his re-election fund -- about $125,000 as of July 15 -- on getting re-elected.

His campaign did not immediately answer questions about the debt to former campaign manager Robert Dindoffer, how it expects to pay it or a $10,000 payment made to Dindoffer on July 1.

Bentivolio, a first-term congressman, is facing a strong challenge in the Aug. 5 Republican primary from Birmingham lawyer and businessman Dave Trott, who had a 22-point lead in the Free Press poll.

In pre-primary campaign finance reports filed Thursday, Bentivolio showed he spent about $53,000 in the first two weeks of July, most of it to vendors linked to fund-raising by direct mail and a flyer sent to homes in the 11st Congressional District. He raised about $9,700 during the period.

In terms of money raised solely from individuals, Bentivolio had a slight edge over Trott, as he had in the previous three months. But Trott has outraised him more than 2-to-1 from individuals over the course of the entire campaign.

Trott spent nearly $460,000 during the first two weeks of the month, much of it on TV ads, direct mail and polling. He raised $10,275 during the period and had more than $1-million cash left from the $3.4 million he has raised overall -- $2.4 million of which came out of his own pocket.

Bentivolio has yet to air a TV ad with 11 days until the election. Whoever wins the primary will be favored in the Republican-leaning 11th Congressional District, though four Democrats are vying in the primary for their party’s nomination.

Dindoffer, who ran Bentivolio’s campaign in 2012, sued in Oakland County Circuit Court this March saying he was owed more than $150,000 in back payments. Up until the most recent campaign filing, Bentivolio, in the campaign fund he created to pay off his 2012 debts, had listed some $90,000 in debts owed to Dindoffer as “disputed.”

But the most recent report dropped the “disputed” tag, added a new $898 debt to that owed Dindoffer and, separately, reported a $10,000 payment to him -- even though that wasn’t subtracted to the balance owed the former campaign manager. Together, it would add up to $100,000.

Asked if that amount represented a settlement, Bentivolio’s spokesman Matt Chisholm said only that the campaign “will file reports with the FEC as required that will account for receipts and expenditures.”

In recent weeks, the parties had agreed to mediate a settlement that was reached but not disclosed publicly, despite calls from the Trott campaign to do so. A message left at Dindoffer’s home was not immediately returned.

If a settlement is reached, the Federal Election Commission would be expected to sign off on it and it could be paid for out of any campaign funds under Bentivolio’s control. Already, he has transferred nearly $84,000 from his re-election campaign to the fund to pay off his earlier debts.

Meanwhile, among the Democrats running for their party’s nomination in the 11th district, Dr. Anil Kumar reported having spent nearly $180,000 in the first two weeks of the month and having a little less than $100,000 cash left, while Bobby McKenzie spent $113,000 and had about $68,000 left.

A pre-primary report for candidate Nancy Skinner wasn’t immediately available -- though she had about $1,700 cash on hand at the end of June. A fourth candidate, Bill Roberts, has filed no campaign reports.